


The Battle Wages On For Toy Soldiers

by sa00harine



Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Some Whump, and intolerable amounts of fluff and sibling recovery/bonding, end of the world pt. 2 electric boogaloo, oh if you read anything here as incest ill rip out your spine :), the switching powers au nobody asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 16:07:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19444888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sa00harine/pseuds/sa00harine
Summary: Remember when Five took them all back in time?Yeah, that happened. Except this time, it's a week before the apocalypse and they've all switched powers.





	The Battle Wages On For Toy Soldiers

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! I wrote this a few months ago and went through it and decided to publish it! This chapter is mainly set up for the next ones, but I hope you enjoy!  
> Sidenote: I'm about to start the busiest summer of my life, so updates will be random and probably slow. So if you don't want to get hooked on something that may not update in time, this is a warning lmao
> 
> Title and first chapter title are from Toy Soldiers by Martika!

Dead and alive were two sides of the very same coin. Ben was the zinc that went into the coin. Currently, the coin was being flipped over and over as Five tugged them all through time. Ben was flung in and out of  _ feeling.  _ And god, no matter how brief the contact was- the presence of his hand on Klaus’ shoulder or the violent whirling of the air around them, it made him  _ alive  _ again. 

Clearly the same sentiment wasn’t shared. 

Diego’s face was pulled taut in the expression of someone who was seconds away from vomiting. Luther’s eyes were wide and Allison was the opposite, eyes shut so hard they looked like they’d sunk back into her head. Klaus was screaming- and hadn’t stopped for however long they were spiraling. Vanya was miraculously unconscious and through his fit of shaking, Five stole glances at her to make sure she stayed that way. 

Almost as quickly as Ben accumulated to the rapid gait of time travel, it was over. He slams into cold grass- which he can  _ feel  _ under his jeans, with the rest of his siblings in tow. Five passes out upon arrival with a meek groan. Luther opens his other arm to catch the former while Diego stumbles and retches into the greenery. 

They were in the front garden of the Academy, just behind the metal gates. 

“Let’s give it up for Express Five!” Klaus rolls on the ground, lifting his hands to clap. 

He’s met with fragile silence as the rest of his siblings marvel at Ben. 

He marvels at them too, not used to being seen by anyone but Klaus. It would be uncomfortable if their eyes weren’t overflowing with intrigue powerful enough to make Ben look behind him. 

No. It really was just him they were staring at. 

He should say something. 

Klaus beats him to it. Suddenly, the eyes in front of Ben widen and the cold night air on his face goes right through him. He’s not corporeal anymore. 

“Uh,” Klaus says. “I can’t-” He reels back, eyes darting around, before finishing what he was going to say. “I can’t hear anything. I can’t see- They’re gone.” 

Klaus couldn’t hear the ghosts. Ben turned white. Klaus couldn’t hear  _ him.  _

Diego plops down. He wipes his mouth with a bruised hand and studies Klaus. Klaus is sitting up, oddly earnest. “What do you mean you can’t hear them?” 

“Not to interrupt,” Luther interrupts. “But shouldn’t we go inside? It’s late.”

They all look at the doors of the Academy for what seems like the first time since they’ve landed here, and Ben doesn’t miss the way he sees them all shrivel under the scrutinizing building that held so much of their misery. 

The balconies and walls loom. The lights are on inside- likely the work of Pogo or Grace, who never left. 

Ben watches his siblings share hesitant looks until Luther gets to his feet, Vanya’s head lolling from his shoulder to his chest. She looks peaceful in her sleep, but so un-Vanya-like in the stark white blazer and bug-eyed eyeliner. 

Through an exchange of eyework, Luther and Diego reach a consensus. Luther drops a limp Five into Diego’s arms. The two lead them into the house they weren’t sure they were going to recognize. 

Ben peeks over Diego’s shoulder- curious as to how Five was doing. He chose the right moment. Five’s eyes flickered open. 

“This doesn’t make sense… why aren’t you all kids again?” He looks like he’s about to say more, but Five snaps his mouth shut and shivers. Ben doesn’t like the haunted look in his eyes. It looked worse on him than it did Klaus. 

Allison opens the door, and they’re home. 

Klaus beelines for the kitchen, Diego and Luther head to the living room to deposit their respective carry-ons, and Allison just leans against the wall, eyes closing. Ben’s almost glad she can’t see him there, worrying. 

Then he remembers. Klaus was  _ alone  _ after the moon just  _ exploded  _ and after he fought in fucking  _ Vietnam _ . Despite his reasons to be sober, Ben wants to keep watch over his overwrought brother. He’d offer some sort of comfort too, but Klaus was usually quick to shut him down if he tried.

The strange thing is, Klaus hunkers by the cabinet holding all the whiskey and alcohol, but doesn’t touch a thing. He stares emptily at the bottles. 

“You’re not going to…” 

An icy cold tremor goes through his veins when Klaus doesn’t turn around. Klaus was swift to yell at him and wouldn’t hesitate to call out Ben for being irritating, as Ben reciprocated, but he scarcely ignored him. 

“Klaus?” 

No. Klaus really couldn’t hear him. 

Klaus looks around. His eyes land square on Ben and Ben’s awash with relief. “Ben?” 

“Klaus! I’m right here.” 

“Ben? Ben? I can’t see you. I can’t see them. I can’t hear the screaming. I- what’s going on? Did you leave?” 

If Klaus looked fearful when the ghosts were terrorizing him, than he looked petrified when they weren’t. 

Number Four’s voice was something small, like it was when Reginald first let him out of the mausoleum or when he’d just been thrown around and abused by some drug dealer. “Did I lose my power?” 

Ben shakes his head. He wouldn’t be here if Klaus lost his power. He does the second best thing he can do, although it would work better if he were physically present; he sits down beside Klaus and stares at the bottles with him. 

That semblance of stillness lasts all of ten seconds before Luther briskly enters the kitchen. 

“There’s a situation. Parlor. Now.”

Vanya’s white attire had been draped over by a knit blanket. Allison shared the couch with her, toying with the hem of the blanket. On the other couch, Diego was looking queasier by the moment while Five was curled into a ball next to him. Luther took one of the armchairs. Klaus took the other, draping his feet over the armrest and tucking his head into the cushions. 

Ben chose to sit in the middle. This was uncharted territory and he wanted to see it all. Or maybe he wanted a chance at being seen.   


Luther seemed to be the only one capable of speech, but evidently didn't know what to say. Five had his head jammed between pillows, offering none of his usual behests, and the bandages across Allison’s larynx spoke for her. 

“Five was telling us that he brought us to the wrong timeline,” Luther begins. “One where we switched powers, apparently.”

Klaus, emerging from his shell- shocked stupor, shrugs. “I can’t see ghosts, so somebody else gets to convene with the dead now.” His movements- jerking periodically and playing with his hands, were hysterical, but his tone was steeled. Ben supposes he learned how to keep a brave face during Vietnam. He didn’t like how Klaus made himself look unphased- it took away from the open-book brother he used to know. 

He doesn't get long to linger on the thought. Five drops the pillows and sits up. 

Throughout their childhood, Five had always been the most composed of them. He had no tardies and was always prompt in his appearances. There were no creases in his uniform and no stains in his clothes. Five was the one who made the rest look scrambled. Even after missions, he was the quickest to be out of the showers and ready to debrief, acting as if nothing had happened. Purely business, that’s how their brother liked to keep it. 

Five looked anything but. He was well-exerted from bringing them this far, and notably unkempt. “That would be me. I got Klaus’ power,” He says loudly. 

Ah, he did the same thing Klaus did. When Klaus was younger, he’d shout all the time in case he couldn’t be heard over the screaming of the ghosts. They’d all had to remind him that only he could hear ghosts, silly. 

The falling of the steely mask makes an audible sound. A gasp. Klaus throws his hands over his mouth and shakes his head. Ben practically hears the frenzy in his head of  _ this can’t be happening. _

“Five I’m so sor-” 

Five hushed Klaus with a raised hand and circles the room, making sure to surpass the exclamations of pity before going on. 

Five’s gaze falls on Ben. Ben seeks a reaction, but Five doesn’t give more than a barely perceptible nod. 

“Klaus, try to spacial jump. We could have switched ours.” 

Klaus quirks a brow. “How do you do it?” 

“This is insane.” Diego’s head is in his hands. 

“Okay. Without the math, which I can’t teach you right now, just picture yourself in your room and see if you appear there.” Five’s voice has gone back to normal. Self-correction, another thing Five was infamous for. 

Klaus tenses up, squeezing his fists the same way Five often did, then droops. “Nope. I don’t think that’s mine. Let’s go by numbers, I’ll try to be Luther and pick up the couch.” 

Luther leans forward in his chair, finding a mild interest amongst his confusion. 

Before anyone can stop him, Klaus was between Five and Diego, genuinely attempting to lift the couch. Ben wants to laugh. Diego nudges him away with a protruding leg after a while passes with only the slight movement of the couch. 

“Okay, Diego. Give me a knife.” 

Diego looks at Five. 

Five gestures to Klaus, giving his permission. 

Diego cautiously slips a knife from one of the straps on his side. He hands it to Klaus. For how stubborn Diego usually was, Ben noticed he was awfully pliant. 

“Hit the top stair.” The stairs were at an angle where Klaus would have to curve the knife.

Klaus inhales. He throws the knife and it hits the wall near the stairs, the average result. 

Diego shakes his head and tries for himself. The knife hits the middle stair, but still not the target. He pouts his lip, never used to missing his mark.

Allison nudges Klaus with her foot. Klaus nods. “Uh, I heard a rumor Diego got up and took his knives back.” 

Diego complies, numbly getting to his feet and yanking the knives from the walls. Just before he crosses the perimeter of the room, he hunches against the wall and closes his eyes. 

“So Five can see dead people and Klaus can tell rumors,” he grumbles, poorly disguising the nausea biting at him as he stiffly walks back to the couch. 

“Is being sick a symptom of time travel?” Diego asks. 

Five hums. “Commonly, yes.” 

“Great.” Diego rests into the cushions, crossing his arms. 

Klaus sits back on his feet.

“I can get you all to do whatever I want.” 

“I’d prefer if you didn’t,” Five quips. 

“I won’t,” Klaus says. “Just remember that I have actual power now.” He gives a petty smile and clambers back to his chair. He fiddles with the dog tags hanging from his neck as he resigns himself. 

Ben winces. Klaus had repeatedly told him during the nights where he couldn’t sleep that his power was the most useless in the family, and that it did nothing but hinder his daily life, to which Ben replied with forced cheeriness,  _ you can see me, at least.  _

As much as he loved Klaus, he thought the latter took that part of his ability for granted.

Luther shifts. “Should I go now?” 

Five nods. 

The atmosphere is steadily unsteady. They were in an entirely new world- a foreign timeline. Was that what it took for them to not interrupt each other? Ben found his share of amusement in thinking that a hastily evaded apocalypse, a new universe, and trading powers was what it took to get some peace and quiet in the Academy. 

He wondered that even though he was dead, would he have gotten different powers too? 

Luther takes one of the knives from where the two rested on the table at Diego’s right.

This knife lands on the floor behind Five. Not even close. 

Luther frowns. He skips to Five’s power. “Where should I try to go?” 

Five doesn’t reply. He was fixed on the corner of the room, hackles raised and shaking his head faintly. 

Ben connected the dots. Five was an assassin. Five could see ghosts. He must be in his own personal hell. Then, he realizes he can do something about it. Ben eases forward until he’s in front of Five, hopefully obscuring his view. 

“Five. Five, hey. Don’t look at them. It makes it worse.” 

Five’s eyes well up and he runs his arms down his face in his hopes to not cry. 

Ben frowns. How long had it been since he showed any emotion? This entire time, Five had been stoic and mechanic, tactical and prudent. He’d already been that way for forty-five years, Ben remembered. If Ben could, he’d send them all to bed. The least they could all do was sleep off the time-travel before delving into the uprising issue. 

But Five had recovered. He slouches, still looking pale.“Go to the kitchen and get us all some water,” He says, sounding truly exasperated like the fifty-eight year old man he was. 

Luther misinterprets this, and vanishes in a flash of blue. In the kitchen, they all heard the tiny  _ oh my god.  _ Five blinks slowly in response. 

“Luther has my power, I have Klaus’, and Klaus has Allison’s.” 

Luther returns, holding a platter with several glasses of water. “I can teleport,” he says informationally, sitting back down in a daze.

“Yeah, I gathered that,” Five replies. 

Klaus laughs. “What’s the date, anyway? Like what ‘time’ are we? Christ, it’s so  _ quiet  _ in here. We need to get like, a soundtrack or something.” 

“Shit!” Five gets up with a start, making way to the calendar Grace kept up in the kitchen. He comes back, sparks under his feet despite the ghosts over his shoulder. “We have a week until the world ends. Again.” 

The room is filled with their collective sigh. 

Luther sips from his cup. “We just have to watch Vanya, don’t we?” 

“No,” Five says. 

Klaus claps his hands. “We have to watch whoever has Vanya’s powers!” 

“Yes,” Five says, pointing at Klaus. 

The latter kicks back, taking a swig of his water.

Ben looks around. Five, Klaus, and Luther have figured out their designated powers. Vanya, Allison, and Diego hadn’t. He leans up to tell Five. 

Five listens. He commends Ben with a subtle thumbs up. 

Ben relishes in it. If nothing else, things like that let him know Five was still human. 

“Diego, Allison, either of you could have Vanya’s power. Let’s see you try to make energy out of noise, which I’m sure is the definition of what Vanya can do.” 

Ben approaches Vanya while he talks. She hasn’t stirred yet and it’s starting to bother him. Her breathing is shallow, her eyes occasionally flutter behind her eyelids, and her heartbeat is constant. Ben decided to stay here instead, a comatose Vanya didn’t sit well with him. 

“There’s no noise,” Diego points out. 

Five. “Let’s make some. Klaus, you hum a song. Luther, you drum along on the table.” 

Ben swivels around with an indulgent mirth at seeing his two brothers try to make bad music in order to rouse the powers of their sister who had quite literally been the harbinger of the apocalypse. 

Klaus looks stunned. Ben knew he couldn’t use the excuse of being self-conscious while sober, because he even pulled questionable stunts while they were kids. Luther was no better, awkwardly and without rhythm, beginning to tap the table. 

Diego snorts. “Do you need a song suggestion?” 

“No.” Luther glares at him.

Klaus makes a show of humming a litany of random pitches. “How about a Queen song? Everybody knows those.” 

Luther shrugs, staring at Klaus blankly. 

Klaus gasps with such fervor that he slips down, about to roll off of his chair. “Are you telling me you haven’t listened to Freddie Mercury’s  _ orgasmic, perfect, iconic,  _ voice?” 

Laughter bubbles up and Ben has to throw his fist in his mouth to keep from laughing. He knows that only Five will hear him, and that’s exactly what he’s scared of.

Luther taps the table a few times. “I know Bohemian Rhapsody.” 

Klaus barks- all hyena-like and mocking. “ _ Only that?  _ What about Another One Bites The Dust, or, or Don’t Stop Me Now?” 

“I know those too.” 

Ben is confronted by the image of Luther dancing to the aforementioned music, and wheezes through his hand. Five averts his eyes to him and Ben laughs harder, seeing the sadistic turn of his lips. Five was finding humor in this, too. Thank God they all managed to laugh at even the worst of times. He feared he wouldn’t be the only one dead in this family if they didn’t.

“Thank Heavens, you’re human,” Klaus determines, dramatically sighing and wiping at the imaginary sweat from his forehead. 

Luther shrugs. “What song do you want to do?” 

“Your choice, straight boy.” 

Ben cackles, thankful nobody could witness him laughing at Luther’s expense. Five snaps his head at Ben and gives a quick  _ shh  _ gesture. Ben shakes his head, giving a small effort to stifle his laughter. As he quiets, he notes Diego’s laughter and the crinkles in Allison’s eyes and smile on her face.

Then Five’s predatory leer at the flush on Luther’s face. 

Luther clears his throat. “Let’s do Don’t Stop Me Now.” 

Ben turns to Klaus just in time to see him launch into humming the song. Luther taps the table accordingly. Their cacophony of sounds is piss-poor and laughable. Five looks at the floor, about to die of secondhand embarrassment, while Diego and Allison stare at each other and try not to laugh. The two concentrate at Five’s soft command and attempt to shift the noises into a source of power. 

At a held-out hum from Klaus and a fury of Luther smacking the table, likely not breaking it only due to the absence of his enhanced strength, the lights go out. 

Diego plays with one of his knives. “I didn’t do that.” 

In the dark, Five fishes a flashlight from under the couch. Ben smirks. He remembers how it got there- one evening when they were all eight, when Klaus would tell scary stories with the flashlight thrust under his chin and Diego holding tight to the pillows. Then Reginald catching them red-handed and upping their training hours. Good things always came to an end. 

In the faint light, Allison was shaking her head. She didn’t do it either. 

Maybe it was a coincidence, Ben thinks. 

Until the flashlight is settled on him and he has to shut his eyes against the harsh light. 

Five moves the light. “Did you do it?” 

“Dude, I told you-” Diego was cut off by Five’s “I’m not talking to you.” 

“You can’t be talking to Vanya, she’s out cold,” Diego says. 

“He’s talking to Ben,” Klaus says, more conviction in his voice than any of them have heard in years. He gingerly turns his eyes on Five for confirmation. Five nods. 

They all follow Five’s eyes to Ben. Only one of them can explicitly see him, but Ben recoils anyway. The insistent faces of his siblings look more like ghosts in the darkness. He studies the view, seeing why Klaus cried out at night. 

The Umbrella Academy assembled in the lowlight look more like the craters in the dark side of the moon. Five’s stare is the most unwavering- him being the only one unabashed at looking at empty air. He saw through it and maintained his cruel stare until Ben spoke. 

“I don’t know if I did it.” 

“Well,” Five says. “We’re gonna find out. Klaus, Luther.” 

On que, they continue their regungant duet. 

Ben summons all of his focus and centers it on the stray knife Luther threw earlier. The sounds of Klaus, Luther, and now Allison, making a ruckus seem to resonate in his head. The vibrations fizz at the tips of his fingers. Woah. The knife springs from the floor and lands in Diego’s lap. 

Diego’s jaw hangs open. He points from the knife to where Ben was- a stupid smile beginning to take over his features. 

“Did h-he just do tha-that?” 

Ben just scared the stutter back into Diego. And by the comedically affronted look on Diego’s face, he was too caught up in his surprise to care. Ben wants to do something else- spread the infectious life that’s seeping into his head. Five, smiling, gives him the chance. 

He registers the rug beneath him first, and then his head against one of Vanya’s arms. They can see him! This time he knows what to say. 

“Picture the words in your head, Diego.” 

Tentative chuckles follow, mingling with the couple of intakes of breath. 

Number Two comes alive from the couch and yanks him into a hug. “Asshole,” Diego says gruffly. “Thanks for the knife.” 

Ben surges into the hug as Diego tries to back out. The arm at the back of his head, buried in his hair, and the other on his back; the feeling is celestial. He could weep at how poetic touching someone was after being dead for years, but instead he just clung tighter. 

Ben finally steps back, sheepishly waving at everyone else. Five and Klaus watched with twin glints in their eyes. Ben’s presence had previously been only privy to them, and he bet Five, and mostly Klaus, were basking in the sight of everyone else’s glee. 

He holds his hands out to Klaus and Five, tugging them into his arms as well. Klaus sighed and Five tried to maintain his passive demeanor for a moment before he grabbed Ben’s shoulder, equally as depraved as him. 

He’s still dead. Nothing can change that, but right now, Ben thinks that it’s alright to say he was alive, if only for the times that his siblings were holding him like he was something precious. 

Allison takes the place of Klaus and Five as the two slink back and sit on the floor. Ben can hear the slight heave in her throat- how she’s trying to talk through the injury. He knows that’ll make it worse, so he shakes his head at her. 

She steps back, fondles for the notepad on the couch, and scribbles. Ben, accustomed to being intangible, tries to watch her pen move over her shoulder and ends up bumping into her. Allison huffs, and crosses out her words. She minds Ben’s quiet apology and dismisses it before starting again. 

_ I MISSED YOU SO MUCH.  _

Ben smiles, filled with the delight of the one-sided reunion. He’s been a bystander to them all growing up, he missed them in terms of interactions, but they’ve been right there- just out of reach, the whole time. 

He’s their stunted brother who died too soon. He threw the wrench into the already broken family and he’ll never take the blame off of himself for that- for dying. And for dying so  _ terribly  _ that they all had this look- pity and amazement, in their eyes, even in this moment, where all was supposed to be happy. Lightheartedness just didn’t do when you were trapped under the veil of an umbrella. 

“I missed you too. All of you.” 

Five, expectedly, closes the curtains on their moment. “Ben, you have Vanya’s powers.” 

He would have replied, if not for the suffocating fear that seized him at the thought of someone having  _ his  _ powers _.  _ He mentally checks the people in the room. 

Klaus? Allison’s power. 

Five? Klaus’ power. 

Luther? Five’s power. 

Himself? Vanya’s.

Allison, Diego, and Vanya were mysteries. It could be any of them, and Ben’s heart stopped at the thought of any of them dealing with  _ them.  _

Oh, and then it sunk in that he was the next probable culprit who would end the world. 

“I’ll try not to end the world,” Ben says quickly. 

Klaus makes a noise, wincing at Diego. “I don’t think that’s what we need to worry about right now, buddy.” 

Diego was taking measures breaths through his nose, gripping his stomach with white knuckles. Ben would recognize those actions anywhere- he went through the very same motions everyday for years. 

“Diego?” 

Diego seems to know what Five’s asking, because he nods quickly and tries not to vomit. 

Ben reflexively shakes his head. His knees go weak and he falls. 

“Diego,” is all that comes out of his mouth.

Apparently trying to keep his ‘macho’ act, Diego inhales sharply and meets his gaze. Ben sees past it- that agony used to be his, after all. He lays a hand on Diego’s knee, ignoring the flinch he gets. 

“You can control it,” Ben says. “Deep breaths. They’ll listen to you.” 

And just like Ben used to react to condolences as a kid, Diego shakes his head, physically deflecting the advice. 

“The nausea will go away.” 

Then, Diego nods. That seems to calm him a little. 

When he looks back, he sees Diego steal a glance at Luther from the corner of his eye. Diego could be unguarded at times, they knew, but not in front of Luther. Their competition had never really left either of them. 

But Luther delicately places a glass of water on the table. Diego makes a face before taking it. 

Five had taken Allison’s notepad, writing down their discoveries. He muttered to himself, but with the quiet of the room- half from sympathy aimed towards Diego, and the rest directed at Ben, Five was easily heard. 

“This is a reality that even I didn’t know was possible. I didn’t have much time to revise my equations before taking us here, so I fucked that up.” He looks up, unease grappling through his tight barrier of aloofness. “Our DNA is altered, so this might be permanent. And I can’t get us out of here, only Luther can.” 

Luther chokes on his water. “I don’t-” 

Five raises a finger. “You  _ will.”  _

Ben watches the tangible exchange of leadership occur- Luther stiffened in his chair before giving a careful nod to Five, who gives a weighted exhale before speaking again. 

“How long do you think we’re gonna be here, dear brother of mine?” Klaus, hanging upside down in his chair, picks absentmindedly at the rug. 

Five breaks the pencil with how tight he’s holding it. “Hopefully not long.”

Allison taps Ben’s shoulder. He understands. 

“Allison doesn’t know her power yet.” 

“It could either me mine or Diego’s,” Luther says. 

Diego tosses Allison a knife. She catches it with precision that reminds them all of the combat they were raised in. 

She throws it, and it lands on the top stair. Deft perfection. 

“Allison Hargreeves, the Kraken 2.0!” Klaus appraises her with the voice of a gameshow host. 

Allison humors him. 

“That leaves Vanya as the one with super-strength,” Five sums up. 

They mutually agree to get a night of sleep and to confront the reality tomorrow. As of now, they were ill-prepared to make any big decisions. 

Begrudgingly, Diego brings up an idea. “I don’t think we should move Vanya- she needs the sleep and we do too. Let’s just all sleep here,” He says dryly. 

Ben didn’t like to sleep alone either, in fear of losing control of the Horrors. He flickers in and out of reality, but shoots a smile that he hopes is reassuring at Diego before he completely disappears. 

Five gravitates to the idea as well. “I’ll get some blankets, Klaus, you come with.” 

Klaus leaps from his seat, sensing he was chosen to accompany Five for a reason. Ben, now visible to only Five, tags along. He came with Klaus everywhere, and he might as well do the same with Five for the time being. 

Luther and Allison leave with the intent to gather pillows. 

Once upstairs, sifting through the closets and out of earshot from everyone else, Five lets his apathy come crashing to the ground. He grabs Klaus’ hand, the  _ HELLO  _ one and judging by the jerk Klaus gives, grabs it tightly. 

“What do I do?” 

Ben freezes. Five glances at him and back to Klaus. Klaus makes a small noise- all parties new to seeing the part of Five that he fought so hard to keep buried.

Klaus shrugs. “There isn’t anything you  _ can  _ do. I did drugs, remember? Speaking of, this whole  _ withdrawal  _ thing sucks, so I was wondering if-” 

“You have no excuse to be high right now,” Five jibes, squeezing Klaus’ hands. “They got louder when Ben made the power go out. They’re all around us and they won’t  _ shut the fuck up _ .” 

A gasp. “Maybe we need to get  _ you  _ high. That helps a crapton, trust me. And get this, we’ll have a  _ high Five.”  _

“Not the time, Klaus,” Five says through gritted teeth.

He sounds at the brim of tears, and Klaus notices. Ben reaches out, watching with dull misery as his hand glides through Five. The doldrum continues when Klaus doesn’t reply. He stares at Five like Ben used to stare at him. 

With their powers switched, their roles took a fair hit as well. 

“Five, wait here!” Klaus brightens and then runs to his room. Five fixes Ben with a skeptical frown. Ben shrugs. 

Klaus returns with a mess of lights in his arms. “They’re fairy lights! We can hang them in the living room and they’ll hopefully make the ghosties go away. They don’t do that much, but they’re nice to have- a pinch of cocaine in the form of house decor! ” 

“And your mind continues to sicken me” Five says, examining the lights. 

Later on, when they’re sodden with blankets and a stack of generic sleepwear, Five stops Klaus before they descend down the stairs. “Thank you.” 

Klaus responds by tugging him into a half-hug, in which Five’s face is thrust into one of the blankets. Klaus doesn’t notice. He just squeezes Five- who was looking visibly uncomfortable with the show of affection- and then lets him go. Ben guesses that expressing your empathy for your brother who could see ghosts didn’t really need words. 

They trudge down the stairs, mutually agreeing on acting casual. Allison and Luther had dumped a variety of pillows on the floor and moved the tables and chairs so they'd all have room to set up makeshift beds. 

Klaus makes quick work of the lights- stringing them across the picture frames and plugging them in. The room is still otherwise dim, but they can make out each other's faces. This assured Five, as he'd finally opened his eyes once the room showed signs of not being pitch blank anymore. 

They settle down, sharing the strange feeling of camaraderie that they hadn't felt since they left the Academy. 

It's reminiscent of their upbringing, but not in the terrible way that they thought it would be. Ben was content. He thought of this as an opportunity to reenact the last seventeen years. They didn't have to be estranged or all that bullshit.

Maybe there was a chance at being family? 

Klaus giggles. "This would be like a sleepover if we didn't have  _ another  _ big problem to solve." 

From the floor, tucking a beige comforter under the couch, Luther actually laughs. "You think that Dad would have let us do this if we asked nicely?"

"Hell no," Diego pitches in. "Me, Klaus, and Ben asked once and he gave us the  _ you're students of the Umbrella Academy and you cannot by any means, enjoy your childhood  _ lecture."

Ben remembers. He also remembers how the three rejected the rules and snuck into Klaus' room an hour later to watch one of Klaus' favorite movies that he stole.  _ Rocky Horror Picture Show.  _ One Halloween after training, Klaus dressed himself in a bad mockery of one of the characters and strutted around the Academy until Pogo caught him and ordered him to change. 

Five puts both of the armchairs together, forming a sort of bed between the armrests. Fortunately, he was just small enough to fit. Once inside, he snatched a pillow and blanket, burrowing into the comfort and listening to Klaus recap his entourage.

Ben sits on the armrest closest to Five's legs so he can look him in the eye. Five was rolling his eyes at Klaus' antics, but smiling nevertheless. That satisfied Ben. He intended to be here in case things went south later in the night, when the rest would be asleep and the ghosts would remain awake. 

"I think there's more pressing matters to discuss," Five says after a while of them telling laughable stories. "Like how we're going to handle this development." 

Diego shrugs. He looked less sickly now and more comfortable, tucked under a layer of blankets and holding onto a pillow. "We can redo training. Easier, less brutal, and without Reginald. He's dead in this timeline, right?" 

Five nods. "He died last night in this timeline. We should pick up the routine we had as kids- training to get used to these powers. I predict the commission will notice what I've done and will act accordingly. We can't fight them if we can't control ourselves." 

He made a good point. A startling one, too. 

"Okay. Sounds fine," Luther says. He's below Diego's couch, squeezed between the couch and Allison, who had scooted over to accommodate Klaus. 

"I don't wanna train. I thought we were done with that." Klaus shoves another pillow onto his stack and falls into the stack, sending pillows everywhere before covering himself with the last remaining blanket. 

"Well, good thing nobody asked you," Five tells him, already beginning to toss and turn. Ben shoots a sharp smile at Klaus, momentarily forgetting his brother couldn't see him anymore. It was weird to know Klaus wasn't the only one he could talk to anymore. Did Klaus feel different too? 

Klaus sticks out his tongue before rolling over to face Vanya on the other couch. He soothes the creases in her suit before collapsing to go to sleep. Vanya stayed asleep. 

A stretch of time passes before Diego starts to toss and turn fruitlessly.

"Goodnight," he says, voice heavy with sleep. Half-hearted replies stem from under the blankets and eventually the room falls as quiet as it's going to get. 

If Ben concentrated, he could feel the same phantom writhing in his stomach that Diego was probably being kept awake by. 

As a ghost, he didn't feel fatigue or the need to sleep. He hadn't felt the need to do anything since he'd first died- cajoling Klaus into bringing him extra food and water only for him to either stare at it longingly or knock it over in an attempt to hold it. 

When Klaus was on the streets, he'd even left some food uneaten in case Ben would try to eat it. They both knew it was futile, but Ben was thankful for the thought of it. 

The past, what? Three hours were more alive then Ben's been in years. He relived the awful memories of unleashing the Horrors in a new light- saving his siblings without Reginald's detached command, but on his own terms, which felt better than he expected it to. And he'd gotten to talk to his family, and they  _ talked back.  _

Out of all the possibilities he and Klaus came up with while the latter was high off of his ass, this wasn't the one they presumed would bring their family back together. 

They'd discussed trading powers before, but both Klaus and Ben had agreed they'd take  _ anyone else's.  _ In their small talk though, they'd forgotten the poor circumstance that someone would have to take theirs. 

It was all Ben could do not to will himself into being corporeal and hold Five and Diego tight until their powers went back to him and Klaus. 

They'd handle it. They were strong and persistent enough, but Ben had the impending thought that it wouldn't be kind to them. He'd seen what it had done to Klaus, and died for what it did to him. 

Speaking of the matter, Five was gripping the armrests tightly and talking in his sleep.

His voice was fragile enough to surpass the ears of everyone else who was asleep, but not Ben. Ben tugs at the strings on his hoodie in order to keep himself from replying to Five. 

The distraction works for about three more minutes. 

Ben got chills when Five echoed Klaus. 

" _ Leave me alone!"  _

It wasn't a plea. It was more of a threat. Of course Five would approach it differently. He was a different person after all- had more fortitude and sense than Klaus did. He'd break only under pressure. Klaus had befallen himself out of impulse and idealization. Five wasn't like that. 

Ben had faith in Five. If they weren't here for long, maybe Five would be able to come back from this. 

That didn't even get him started on Klaus coming back from it, though. That would be a process. Well, they could help each other through it now that the other wasn't alone. 

"Go  _ away!"  _

Five had jolted up, blankets tight in his hands and in a cold sweat. 

He was about to swat at Ben. Then he saw, and fell back into the chair with a sigh. 

"Was it like this with Klaus?"

"Somewhat."

Five gapes at the air and retreats into himself. Ben throws his knees in front of him, blocking the view as best he can. He knows Five would still hear them, but Ben didn't want Five seeing more dead bodies then he already had. 

"I missed you," he says. "After you left, there wasn't anyone to talk common sense with me." 

Five sniffs. "Vanya knows common sense."

Ben shakes his head. "We were a lot more… isolated. Reginald got worried and kept us apart from each other. He didn't want us getting any ideas." 

"I wouldn't put that past him." 

Ben laughs, observing the rest of the siblings, who were all in some form of slumber. Luther was still and out cold. Allison was curled around her notebook, face slack. Diego intermittently shifted or hissed, but otherwise didn't wake up. Vanya was still. Klaus kicked his feet sporadically, but didn't rouse anyone near him. 

And Five was awake. 

"I'm sorry I left."

Ben wretches his head back to face Five. "You didn't know." 

"That doesn't matter. I still left." 

"It does to us. You would have come back sooner if you could." 

"I tried so hard." Five's voice actually breaks, and Ben focuses so hard on the fact that Five is actually  _ talking, opening up to him _ , that the rest of the room crumbles away. 

"I did all the math and tried to work out the logistics of getting home for years. Dead ends, every equation. I'm still expecting to wake up and be back in the goddamn dystopia." 

Ben ignores the glassy look Five's eyes have taken. "Was it worth it?" 

Five shrugs. "I'd do it again if it meant saving you guys." 

Ben wants to shout. The little bastard tried to hard to deny his love for his family that he didn't know that he was kept alive because of it. Five was practically made of compassion and Ben didn't know how to respond to him actually  _ expressing  _ it. If he told Klaus right now, Klaus would  _ never  _ believe him. 

"I'm sorry," Ben says. "Can you say it again for the people in the back?" He gestures to the sleeping figures behind them. 

Five waves him off with a badly hidden smile. "You know, I spent years wondering why I didn't see you." 

Ben motions for him to go on. 

"When I first arrived in the apocalypse, I saw everyone dead. That's how I knew we failed the first time. You and Vanya weren't among them. I searched for you guys everywhere until I found her book." 

"Did it make you mad?" 

Five shakes his head. "Did it make you? Or Klaus?" 

"No. She was right, after all. Klaus was sober for a bit after he read it. He wanted to show up to her house and prove to her that he wasn't a _flighty_ _addict_. He had a whole scheme in his head too- he was gonna let her fall for it and then leave with some crude goodbye card." 

"Vanya wouldn't believe him for a second." 

"That's what I told him." 

"Did he do it?" 

"God no. I wouldn't let him. But we sat in the drugstore and laughed at all the dumb cards." Ben thought it better to leave out the part concerning the stolen bottle of champagne. 

Ben smiles in spite of himself. He and Klaus leant against the isles with Klaus reading off puns and bad jokes off of the cards. They weren't inherently funny, but everything became a little funny when one was dead and one was intoxicated. 

"I'm glad he had you. I worried about him after reading the book." 

Klaus would faint if he heard Five give off any hint that he cared about him. Ben wished he had a camera. 

"I'm just happy we're all okay. Can you go back to sleep?" 

He would keep talking for hours, but he didn't want to subject everyone else to an irritable Five in the morning. It had been a while, but Ben was well educated with how short of temper Five could get if he was pushed. 

And although the ghosts insistent shrieking wouldn't make it easy, Ben wanted Five to fit in at least a few hours of rest. 

The panic that momentarily dawns on Five's face- the widening of his blue eyes and multitude of tiny breaths is seamlessly schooled into apprehension.

Five nods and Ben gives a chaste goodnight before surrendering into the  _ nothingness  _ that was being dead and lonesome. 

**Author's Note:**

> What's a good expedition chapter without Five finally opening up, huh?  
> Thanks for checking this out! I'm eager to hear what you think of this so far!


End file.
